Murs and 9th Wonder have formed a musical bond that began with their 2004 release "Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition" and that connection has only gotten stronger through the years that followed. They came back with "Murray's Revenge" in 2006, and then 2008's "Sweet Lord" and "Fornever" in 2011. Well it seems all good things must come to an end. The appropriately titled 5th album "The Final Adventure" marks the duo's last collaboration together. The two really benefited from their musical relationship together. Murs made use of an opportunity to create music with one of Hip Hop's most talented producers whose style allowed him to use more traditional approaches on the mic. 9th got the chance to consistently work with an established emcee with skills as his relationship with his previous group, Little Brother, had dissipated.
Murs has been active in Hip Hop since 1993 when he released his first single, and three years later he solidified his hip hop membership when he joined the Livin Legends collective. Murs has been all over the place, seemingly re-defining himself every few years. He has released music on popular underground labels Rhymesayers and Definitive Jux, been apart of numerous hip hop and rock groups including Felt, a duo of himself and Slug of Atmosphere. He even released an album "Murs For President" in 2008 on Warner Bros. Records. I've always had mixed feelings about Murs lyrically, but I have always respected his passion and dedication to music as well as his willingness to go outside of the box. It's fair for me to say that his work with 9th Wonder showed some of his best work as a writer and emcee.
9th Wonder is a beat-maker's beat-maker. Since his 2003 debut with Little Brother, the North Carolina native has shown the world the true way to flip a sample. His landmark group consisted of Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh, before he left in 2007. Under 9th's production, they released The Listening in 2003 and The Minstrel Show in 2005 which as far as I'm concerned, are two classic albums. Since then, he has worked with elite musicians such as Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Erykah Badu, Ludacris and Drake. More impressive than this is 9th Wonders involvement in the world of academia. In 2007, he was appointed Artist-In-Residence by the Chancellor of North Carolina Central University, and he began teaching Hip Hop classes there. He has also recently been accepted into Harvard University as a fellow of the Hip Hop Archive and will spend three years working on a research project at Harvard's W.E.B. DuBois Institute. My friend and college chum, Tom Wolejko, is the Media and Technology Coordinator there and says 9th is doing amazing work, and is quite charming with all of thee faculty. Tom says hello if you're reading, 9th! This makes me so proud as a listener and contributor to Hip Hop but also makes me proud as a part time teacher myself; we need so much more of this in the Hip Hop Community. Read more about the project at The Harvard Fellow. Along with all of this, 9th Wonder is a Chicago Bears fan, which was obviously the motivation for my writing this piece.
On "The Final Adventure" they keep it short and sweet. 10 tracks with 2 bonus on the iTunes release. The album carries out the usual soulful, bob-your-head feel that you would expect from a 9th produced album. Murs carries the rhyme duties with purpose, going into topics such as beef with old friends, complicated relationships with women and the irony in the death of a killer. The two standout tracks are Whatuptho and Walk Like A Woman. On Walk Like A Woman, 9th gives you three different beats in one track and transitions between them all seamlessly. This is really where 9th is at his best. The album features 9th's new prodigy, Rapsody, on the intro track Get Together. I love that she references Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah in the verse. It seems the Jamla family shows love for Chicago athletics! Rapsody's style is close to that of fellow female emcee Jean Grae, and not just because they are both women. They actually sound alike, tonally. She's a clever emcee and is quickly becoming a popular artist amongst Hip Hop heads everywhere. "The Final Adventure" is solid listen and provides a refreshing soundtrack leading into the end of 2012, mirroring the end of an era. Nearly a decade of good music between Murs and 9th Wonder concludes, but I can imagine more great things coming from these two talents. Thanks for the memories, fellas.
I give "The Final Adventure" 6 out of 8 bars.
*Bonus Track* Check out the remix of Tale Of Two Cities by 2 Sides below:
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